New Delhi (Agency): India is making significant strides in the technical textiles sector with a new policy aimed at fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. The Ministry of Textiles announced the Startup Guidelines for Technical Textiles – Grant for Research and Entrepreneurship across Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles (GREAT). The program offers grants of up to INR 50 Lakhs for a period of 18 months, according to Shri Rajeev Saxena, Joint Secretary Textiles.
The new guidelines focus on several key areas, including the development of high-performance fibers and sustainable textile materials. Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, 3D/4D Printing, and Rapid Prototyping also feature prominently. The areas of application include agro-textiles, building textiles, geo-textiles, medical textiles, and more.
To further bolster the program, the Ministry will provide an additional 10% of the total grant to incubators working with the startups. It also mandates a minimum investment of 10% from the incubatee in two equal installments to ensure commitment to the projects.
In a parallel development, the Ministry approved 26 educational institutions for course and lab upgrades focused on technical textiles. These institutes include prominent names like IIT Delhi, NIT Jalandhar, and Amity University. The total funding approved for these educational initiatives is a staggering INR 151.02 Crores, with public institutes receiving INR 105.55 Crores and private institutes INR 45.47 Crores.
The funding will also assist departments in universities and colleges related to textile technology, design, and engineering. New degree programs in technical textiles are set to be introduced with a focus on all application areas.
Besides startups and education, the Ministry is paying attention to quality control. It has already issued Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for 31 technical textile products, which will become effective from 7th October 2023. Additional QCOs are in the pipeline, set to cover a wider array of products in the coming months.
The policy also opens doors for academic institutes with relatively eased parameters under new education guidelines. The aim is to include new courses and papers in technical textiles in the academic curriculum by the year 2025-26.